John Henry Decker, the West Hartford Republican challenging the seven-term Democrat U.S. Rep. John B. Larson in one of the toughest districts to beat a Democrat in the country, doesn't talk much about himself on the campaign trail.

When he does, it's to talk about how he's an outsider. A Morgan Stanley financial planner who's a newcomer to politics. An everyman fed up with political gridlock who said he's "best viewed as a candidate who got frustrated with both parties because they're spending money we don't have."

"I see people all across the board dealing with less while the government is spending money," Decker said. "My hope was, or my belief was, if I could educate enough people about inefficiencies in government, we'd have success in this race."

But Decker, 45, is driven by more than frustration with government. He talks about his decision to run as having come about a year ago, when he felt he "could just not sit back and be quiet anymore." His big life change, however, came 21 years ago in a dark Baltimore alley.

Decker, then 24, was robbed, stabbed and nearly died while walking back to his car with his sister and cousin after leaving the city's bar district. Decker said that he was approached by two men in a car, words were exchanged, and the men jumped out and displayed a knife.

"They came at me with the knife, and I said, 'I'm not going to fight your knife,'" Decker said as he retreated, walking backward. The men pulled Decker to the ground and stabbed him during the fight, he said.

After the stabbing, Decker blacked out. The next thing he remembers was waking up in the car his sister and cousin rushed him to the hospital. His lung had been punctured, and he felt close to death, but then "I looked at my sister and saw the fear on her face."

He said that even though he felt like passing out again, he knew he had to hang on for his sister.

"It wasn't about me anymore. I ended up talking to her the entire way to the hospital, saying, 'Janey, I'm OK,'" Decker remembered. "She was panicking. It was utter fear on her face."

Doctors told Decker that he "should thank someone upstairs for being there" because the knife had missed every vital organ by one half-inch. He spent about 10 days in the hospital recovering, and said the experience made him more spiritual.

"It was kind of a religious experience when you think about how you made it through something like that," Decker said. He said he learned that life "was about making a difference for others and not yourself."

When Decker talks about running against Larson, he brushes aside the idea that taking on one of the nation's most powerful Democrats in the Democratic-dominated district (it has not elected a Republican since 1956) would be intimidating.

"If anything, it's motivating," Decker said. "We knew it would be a huge disadvantage from day one. It would be easier if we had more money to advertise and had name recognition."

According to Decker and Larson's October campaign filing, Larson has raised nearly $1.9 million compared to Decker's $64,605. Decker is still crisscrossing the district, bringing his fast-talking style to doorsteps and campaign forums with his message that robust economic development will be key to job creation and digging out of the nation's fiscal hole.

Decker has a five-point plan he said he would advocate if elected: Reduce the corporate tax rate, reform the tax code, repatriate profits from companies that have taken business overseas, end "burdensome regulations," and "end the uncertainty of the fiscal cliff."

His idea of "repatriating profits" involves temporarily dropping the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 5.2 percent for companies that are willing to bring their business back to the United States. The fiscal cliff, or sequestration, goes against how businesses operate and is an example of how the government has hurt commerce, Decker said.

"Businesses can't plan in a month," Decker said. "When businesses don't know what to expect, they can't make an investment in themselves."

Decker said he would approach Congress differently because he "hasn't been poisoned by being in Washington for years," but he said he worries he hasn't had enough time or resources to get his message out.

"I don't want to look back and say I didn't speak up at the time," Decker said. "I don't like to lose, but if you play sports you know that you play your best and at least you can always look aback and be proud of the effort you gave. If I get beat, I get beat."

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